A Bud in Winter
by AnimeSnowflake
Summary: Long before Kanata knew of his past identity and before learning of his enemy, there came a fated encounter in his childhood. A fluffy little one-shot. "May change title and/or turn into a collection of stories later"


**Guess who's back? Yep, it is I, AnimeSnowFlake! It's been several months (maybe even a year or so) since I've put up any fanfic chapters or one-shots, and of all the things I could've put up, this was NOT what I expected to produce first! XD**

**Well, let me explain myself. For the past several months, I had been SERIOUSLY lacking motivation and inspiration for fanfiction, only writing a few sentences for each of my writing projects every few days or so. Then, sometime in January, my laptop crashed and I had to wipe everything from it and get it rebooted. So, in plain english, I lost ALL FANFICS. I lost progress for the next chapter of my NarutoxYu-Gi-Oh crossover (for the second or third time, I think), my next one-shot for my series of one-shots for my side account, DestinySisters02, and countless other fanfic ideas. So, as you can imagine, I was depressed. And, strangely enough, in my depression, I began typing an idea for a fanfic for Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru, and... this was the result... Weird how it works that way, huh? XD**

**Well, I'll save the rest of my blather for after this story, so without further ado, please enjoy the fluff. :3**

**Disclaimer: I have no rights over this anime or its characters. They are the property of Odagiri Hotaru.**

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><p>It was a cold, winter evening. As snowflakes gently fell to the ground, those who were outside made their ways to their homes. At the Asahi Orphanage, all of the little children piled up in front of the windows to look outside in delight at the snow. Seeing this, two caretakers, a young man and an older woman, came into the room.<p>

"Come on, children. It's time to get ready for bed," the woman said. A chorus of "aws" was let out by the children as they left the windows to get ready to go to bed. Smiling, the old woman led the younger children out of the room and said, "Don't worry; you can all enjoy the snow tomorrow."

Soon, the room was almost completely emptied. The only small child that stayed in the room was a young boy of 4 years old. He had short black hair and blue-grey eyes that stared out the window in slight wonder. Smiling, the male worker went over to the child and placed a hand on his shoulder. Kindly, he said, "Kanata-kun, aren't you going to get ready for bed?"

The small child, now known as Kanata, looked up at the worker and replied, "Oh, I will. It's just, I wanted to look at the snow a little longer."

"I see," the worker said, smiling as he looked out the window. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Mm…" For a moment, silence took up the room. Suddenly, Kanata asked, "Michio-san, can I ask a question?"

"Hm? Sure, ask away," the young man said, curiously looking towards the child.

Kanata hesitated a little, looking away shyly, before he finally asked, "Are you gonna leave someday?"

Michio blinked in confusion a little before the question was processed in his mind. Confused, he asked, "What brought about that question?"

"Well, uh…" Kanata went quiet. Seeing that the little child looked scared to talk, Michio got down on his knees to reach his height and said, "Its okay. You can tell me."

The two met each others eyes for a moment. Then, nervously, Kanata said, "Well, I had a bad dream last night. I was in a cold place, and no one would come to help me. I was already left behind by my parents. I don't want to be alone. I'm scared you'll leave me…"

Seeing what the child was afraid of, Michio gave a kind smile before giving the child a small hug. Calmly, he said, "Its okay, Kanata-kun. I'm not going anywhere right now."

"Do you really mean it?" the little boy asked sadly. "My mom and dad didn't want me to be with them. How do I know you really wanna stay with me?"

The worker pulled back to look Kanata in the eye, and he said, "I understand your worries, Kanata-kun. I promise I won't leave you: not so long as you want me with you."

Kanata thought about this for a little while before giving a small smile and replying, "That's good."

Michio smiled, happy with this response. He then stood up and said, "Okay, let's get you ready for bed now."

"Okay," Kanata said, taking a hold of Michio's hand. As they walked out of the room, the young boy asked, "Do the others in the day care stay here because the other kids want them here, too?"

"Yes, they do," Michio replied. "So long as they're needed by at least one child, they will stay here to help them. The same applies to everyone in the world; so long as one person needs another, the two will stay together for each other's happiness."

"The day care people are really nice, huh?" the young boy said happily.

"Well, most of the time, yes," Michio said in a quieter voice, though still in a kind voice.

The next few minutes were spent in silence as Kanata slipped on some pajamas and got ready for bed. After the two made it to where the other children were sleeping, Michio said, "Hm, I guess we're a little late for story time."

"That's okay. I'm sleepy, anyways," Kanata said. As proof of this statement, the little boy let out a small yawn. He looked around before turning to Michio and asking, "Michio-san, did Mr. Director go to bed, too?"

"I believe he actually went into town today. He shouldn't be back for another hour or so," Michio replied. "Why? Did you want to say good night to him?"

Kanata nodded silently. Smiling, the older man said, "Tell you what; I'll make sure to say good night to him for you once he gets back, all right?"

"Mm, okay," the little boy said with a smile. Quickly, he hugged Michio around the legs and said happily, "Good night, Michio-san."

"Good night."

Kanata quickly got under the covers to his bed, and just as Michio closed the door to the room, he was in a deep sleep.

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'_Huh? Where am I?'_

_Young Kanata looked around himself. The dark abyss he found himself in was terrifying: enough to make him want to cry out of fear. It didn't take long for the child to realize he had been here before._

_The everlasting darkness. The deafening silence. The bitter coldness in the air. All of these were signs of a familiar nightmare. _

_Fearfully, Kanata looked around, hoping to see something different in this dark place. As he did this, he cried out, "Michio-san! Mr. Director! Anybody! Where are you?"_

_Within a few seconds, he thought he had heard a faint cry. Thinking that someone came to help him in this dream, Kanata ran towards the noise across an invisible ground. With a hopeful smile, he shouted, "Hey! You came to help me!"_

_However, as he neared where he thought the sound had come from, a sudden heat filled the air. Within seconds, tiny embers began to appear in the air, and Kanata could feel flames licking at his heels. The boy gasped as the abyss became engulfed in flames. As the flames consumed the area, more strange objects came across the boy's vision: blood, a barren sakura tree, a dark figure of a man with long hair. Becoming overcome with this horrifying sight and the steadily increasing heat, the young boy fell to his knees and screamed._

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Kanata's eyes shot wide open as he let out a loud gasp. It took the child a few seconds before he realized that he was back where he was when he went to sleep. Panting, he sat up and thought to himself, _'Not again…'_

Soon, tears were welling up in his eyes. Quickly, he got out from under his covers and quietly left the room. After shutting the door, Kanata quietly ran down the hallway. Soon, his footsteps slowed down as he reached his destination. Opening the door, he came into a small storage room. Here, any items that the children at the orphanage brought with them were kept stored until the day they were adopted or the day they left.

Kanata spent a moment or two looking through a box, and within no time at all, he found what he was looking for. Carefully, he pulled out a big, black book. He didn't know where the book had been made or what the symbols all over it meant; all he knew was that he had it with him when he was found by the director. Kanata walked with the book over to the hallway wall and sat down against the wall, hugging the book all the while. He wasn't sure why, but whenever he had a bad dream, he was usually able to calm down by holding onto this book for a while. It didn't exactly make him feel happy, per se. However, it did make him feel complete: like he could go on, even with having a scary dream.

After a couple more minutes passed, Kanata let out a shaky breath, and his body relaxed a little bit. Silently, he looked at the book that lay on his little legs and he thought, _'I had that dream again. I guess that means I will end up alone. Everyone, even Michio-san, will leave me. I can't believe what anyone tells me…'_

Morosely, Kanata went back into the storage room and put the book away. He wasn't happy, but he was satisfied; at least that book had calmed his nerves. After making sure the door was shut, the child began to walk back to the sleeping room where the other children were having much more peaceful nights. However, he quickly paused as he suddenly heard a soft sound. Pausing, he strained his ears to see if he could hear it again. Soon enough, he had heard the sound again, but it confused him.

'_Is that someone crying?' _Kanata thought to himself in confusion. It had sounded like a little cry, and it came from the door he had just been about to pass. He looked at the door and noticed it was slightly ajar. He spent a moment wondering if he should go back to his room to sleep and forget he heard that noise; if he was caught out of bed, he might get in trouble, after all. However, another small cry from the room helped him make up his mind. Kanata decided to open the door.

Timidly, he stepped into the room, and the first thing he noticed was a big basket by the door with a little blue blanket lying inside of it. Kanata spent a brief moment wondering what that was doing there when a sudden whimper caught his attention. Quickly, Kanata snapped his gaze towards where the sound came from and saw a drop-side crib. Slowly, he walked up to the crib as the whimpering continued. Once he got to the crib, he noticed that he was too short to look into the crib directly, so he got up on his tiptoes and peered into the crib.

Kanata gasped as he saw a tiny little baby boy with a head of red hair lying inside the crib. He cocked his head to the side wondering if he had ever seen this baby around the orphanage before. However, he began to think more about it, and after looking between the baby and the basket that was left by the door, he came down to the conclusion that this must have been another child that was abandoned by his parents.

Kanata's attention came to focus on the small infant once more as he began to wail. Hearing the crying made the young boy cringe at the volume. Hoping to find a way to make the baby stop crying, he stretched an arm through a gap between two of the bars and reached for the infant, saying softly, "Hey, shhh. It's okay. Please don't cr-"

Kanata stopped speaking as he gently touched the side of the baby's head. He was taken aback at how… soft his head was. At his touch, the baby's crying softened back down to light sniffling, and eventually, it came to a stop. After a few seconds, the little baby opened his eyes and looked back at Kanata. Both of them looked at each other with silent curiosity for what seemed like a while to Kanata. Surprisingly, he felt very at peace just looking in the baby's eyes; with that peace came a strange sense of happiness. Smiling, Kanata said, "Hey, you're a cute little guy, aren't you?"

The baby made a slight cooing sound in response, kicking his little legs slightly. Kanata let out a small laugh and said, "I guess you're excited to have someone talking with you."

As the baby continued to move his legs energetically and observe him, Kanata just looked back, smiling. After a moment, he realized how much time he was spending in this room when the adults thought he was still asleep. Nervously, he thought, _'Man, I can't stay in here too long. If I do, I'll get in trouble.'_

"I'm sorry little guy, but I gotta go to bed now," Kanata said quietly to the baby. With that, he got off of his tiptoes and began to walk out of the room. However, he froze as the baby started bawling again. Looking back at the sad child, Kanata realized something. This baby was crying because he must have been scared to be left alone. He wanted Kanata there.

He _needed _him.

After this realization, Kanata realized he couldn't leave him here alone. Looking around the room, he noticed a little stool. Quickly he grabbed it and dragged it over to the front of the crib. As the baby continued to whine softly, Kanata stood on the stool and reached up to undo the latch keeping the wall to the drop-side crib up. After undoing it, he let the wall fall as gently and quietly as he could, and then, he reached in to grab the baby. Although the baby was a little heavier than he thought a baby would be, Kanata managed to pick him up with little problems. After making sure the child was secure in his arms, he stepped off of the stool and walked towards the door.

"Man, you're more scared of being by yourself than me," Kanata said with a slightly amused tone as the infant quieted down. After a while, the small child settled on leaning his head against Kanata's body and gripping onto his shirt with his tiny hands. Kanata took his time in reaching the door and wondered silently just what he was going to do with this babe. Before leaving the room, the boy noticed something that he hadn't earlier. Tucked into the blanket that was inside the basket was a small little card. Curiously, he picked up the card and looked at it. His face became slightly confused at seeing a blank side, but it changed as he flipped it over. On the other side he saw a name.

"What's this?" Kanata asked quietly. Curious, he tried to read it, having learned some of the basics of reading a while ago. "Y… Yu…Yu… ki… Yuki?"

Kanata paused and processed this word for a minute. At the sound of the infant's cute little incoherent mumble, he looked down to see the baby looking up at him. Curiously, Kanata asked, "Is that your name? Yuki?"

As if to answer the boy's question, the little baby smiled, letting out happy, incoherent babbling. Kanata let out a small laugh and smiled, happy to finally have a name for him other than "little guy" or just "baby". Still not quite ready to go to sleep, Kanata decided to walk back to the room he and the other children had been in hours ago, watching the snow outside. After reaching the room, he made his way over to the window. Looking outside, he noticed the snowflakes had stopped falling. Cheerfully, he lifted Yuki a little bit higher and said, "Look outside, Yuki. Isn't it pretty? I like snow, but only when it's like this. When there's no snow falling and no one has stepped in it, it looks so white and pretty. It makes me think of before I go into a room to play. Everything looks very nice and clean, but then others get in and make it look messy. But it's still fun to play in snow: even if it doesn't look as pretty when you're done. When you're bigger, you can play with me out there."

Looking back at the baby, Kanata was slightly taken aback when Yuki wasn't looking outside. Instead, the baby had laid his head onto his shoulder and moaned happily. After taking a closer look, Kanata realized that he was sucking on his shoulder. Kanata was slightly annoyed by this, but still, he couldn't bring himself to be mad at him. He just looked so small and cute, and this sight just caused Kanata to have a warm, happy feeling take up his mind. Plus, Yuki did look like he was happy and enjoying himself. After a few seconds, Yuki let out a cute yawn. Seeing this, Kanata said, "I guess you wanna go to sleep. Well, I'll take you to my bed, okay?"

A soft, content moan came from Yuki, and Kanata decided to take that as a yes. So, he began his walk back into the sleeping room. Within a short amount of time, he made it back to the room. As he opened the door and walked over to his bed, he tiptoed and tried to be as quiet as possible to avoid waking anyone up. After reaching the bed, he gently let Yuki down to have him lay his little head on the pillow. Kanata allowed himself to get under the covers after making sure he would be okay. As soon as he got situated, he looked over to his newly-made friend and saw that Yuki was already beginning to fall into a peaceful sleep with a small smile on his face. This sight warmed Kanata's heart, and smiling, he whispered, "Good night, Yuki."

And with these words, Kanata snuggled under the covers, gently laid an arm over Yuki in a kind gesture, and began to go to sleep. Before drifting off, thoughts of this child had him seeing his life in a brighter light. With children like Yuki growing up in the world, maybe things wouldn't be so bad. Knowing that he wanted to look after this child for as long as he could, Kanata finally fell into a deep sleep, and fortunately for him, his sleep wasn't interrupted by any dark nightmares. It was only filled with happy visions.

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><p><strong>Well, that's the story. I'm surprised no other fans of Uraboku have tried to type stories of how Kanata and Yuki met... or ANY type of fanfic showing one of the characters when they were really little, for that matter. So, I guess with that in mind, it was only a matter of time before I'd type this up. To be honest, I could see this story going longer, too. In my head, I already have ideas for more fluff moments between young Kanata and young Yuki. However, having ideas is one thing; getting the motivation to type those ideas is another thing completely. So until I get the proper muse for more chapters, this will just stand as a one-shot on its own.<strong>

**Oh, and before I forget, I want to give a special "thank you" to fanfic writer, Ame no Komoriuta, for looking over this story before I posted it up. Without her help, I would not have been comfortable with putting up my first bit of Uraboku writing. Thanks to her, I was able to fix grammar errors, find synonyms to replace overused words (hopefully, I managed to succeed in that area), and notice my possible errors at portraying certain age ranges. Sadly, the last one, I found it too difficult to try and change things, so if this does eventually become a multi-chapter series, I'll try to be more aware of that in the future... ^^;**

**Anyways, thank you all for reading my first fanfic for Uraboku. Hopefully, it won't be the last. Have a good rest of the day, and remember, reviews are a writer's best friend! **


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